microcontrollers

Espressif's latest ESP32 chip is capable of running Linux, putting the low-cost microcontroller line closer than ever to single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi. The news is drawing attention from hobbyists and embedded developers, who are debating how the once-simple WiFi chip now overlaps with cheap SBC territory and what it means for future DIY and IoT projects.

A new report highlights that microcontrollers, typically limited to simple embedded tasks, can now run both a diffusion model for image generation and a large language model with 289 million parameters. The development points to AI capabilities moving onto low-cost, low-power hardware rather than requiring cloud servers or GPUs, a notable shift for embedded and edge computing.